Chester's Wedding
by lostcowgirl
Summary: Chester leaves Dodge but still thinks of his friends and they still care for him. However, two of them quarrel because of it.
1. Chapter 1 Murder of a Stranger

**Chapter 1 - Murder of a Stranger**

Roy Hammond came to Dodge City from his farm outside the little town of Maize near Wichita because he was finally going to be able to branch out and start raising cattle. The cattle were prize specimens, and thanks to the kindness of Bear Sanderson, 50 head, including a prize bull, would be held out of the auction so he could afford to buy them. He and his older boy, 11 year-old, tow-headed Donald, would be driving the herd home. His wife Elsie and younger son, seven-year-old Albert, stayed behind to tend the farm.

Roy bought the cattle Bear's hands had separated out into their own pen in the stockyards by the train depot. Come morning he and Donald would start for home with them. The two of them ate a quiet supper at Delmonico's then returned to the Dodge House to talk about how they would start the herd on its way toward Maize with the dawn.

"It's getting late son. I think you'd better turn in. I just want to make one more check on the herd and then I'll turn in too."

"Pa, you're gonna watch that herd aint ya? I may be young, but not so young I didn't notice how there was some who'd steal what's now ours."

"I've got to. Mr. Sanderson's men won't be tendin' to our cattle now that they're all bought and paid for, especially not overnight, and the stockyard watchman won't know whose cattle they really are. I'd hire someone, but we're strangers so I don't know who we can trust. Besides, we ain't got the money to pay 'im."

Marshal Matt Dillon, making his rounds, watched the gangly stranger walk toward the stockyards. He didn't know for certain that the man was Roy Hammond, the man Bear told him about but he sure fit the description. Besides, his gut told him something was about to happen. It was just too quiet, even for the first few days of the cattle season. Still, he didn't feel there was any need to hurry or even let the man know he was being followed. His leisurely pace turned into a run when shots rang out. Matt arrived to see the night watchman firing at the rapidly retreating backs of two cowboys as they rode south. He'd have to catch up to them in the morning. Meanwhile, there was plenty of work for him to do here.

"You might as well leave off your firing. They're too far away for you to hit them in the dark unless you're real lucky. Now, I need to know what happened here."

"Marshal, Bear told me a stranger dressed like a farmer would probably stop by to keep watch on the 50 head in the far pen. I seen him and let him walk on by. Anyways, those two I shot at musta been hidin' out waitin' for their chance 'cause the stranger caught them just as they was about to open the gate. The stranger give 'em a warnin' and fired his scattergun high. They ran for their mounts but turned long enough to fire back, only they didn't aim high. Sorry, but I was too late."

Matt, when he reached the gate to the far pen, knelt down by the man lying there. There was no doubt Roy Hammond was dead. The papers in his shirt pocket confirmed his identity. He'd have to make arrangements for the transport of the body and the cattle tomorrow. Tonight, the hardest task lay ahead of him. He had to tell a boy that his father was dead. He told the watchmen to keep an eye on the pen and Hammond's body until morning and then walked slowly back toward the center of town.

Matt didn't bother to wake the night clerk when he walked up to the desk in the Dodge House. Instead, the tall marshal turned the register around so he could see which room Hammond and his son were assigned. He slowly climbed the stairs, heading for their corner room. When he arrived, he gently knocked.

"Who is it?" a sleepy voice that still had the higher pitch of childhood asked.

"Sorry to disturb you, son. I'm Marshal Dillon. I've got something important to tell you. Would you please let me in."

"I reckon you'd better wait for my pa, mister. He'll be back before first light."

"It's your pa I've come to talk to you about. Open the door, son. I don't want to have to say what I need to say through a closed door in a hotel hallway."

Matt heard the lock turn and then the door was open. A barefoot boy in his nightclothes stood there looking up at him. He was about five and a half feet tall with brown eyes and a head full of straight blond hair. He took in the badge and Matt's expression as he backed off to let him inside. Matt closed the door softly behind him.

"You really are a marshal. I wasn't too sure when you knocked. What's happened to my pa?"

"I don't know how else to tell you except to come right out with it. Your pa's dead. He was shot trying to prevent a couple of men from stealing your cattle. I'll go after them as soon as there's enough light to pick up their trail, but you've got some quick growin' up to do. You have to decide what to do with the cattle and whether you want your pa buried here or at home."

"If it's all the same to you Marshal, I'd like to take the cattle and pa home, but I'll need some help doin' it. I sure don't want to keep you from goin' after the men who killed my pa. Since it can't be you, do you know of anybody you trust enough to come with me?"

"I for a fact do. He's been my assistant for close to ten years now. He won't let you down, I promise."


	2. Chapter 2 The Errand

**Chapter 2 - The Errand**

Marshal Dillon woke his long-time assistant Chester Goode an hour before dawn where he slept on the cot in the office. While Chester prepared for the trip, Matt sought out Quint Asper, the blacksmith and Sam Noonan, Kitty Russell's chief bartender at the Long Branch. He put Sam in charge of the town and asked Quint to ride with him after the killers. Then he telegraphed Elsie Hammond to let her know Roy's coffin would be on the Wichita train and his trusted assistant Chester would be driving the cattle to the Hammond farm outside Maize.

Chester and Donald Hammond, with help from the cowboys working for the Dodge City stockyards, set forth on the long drive. Once the herd was pointed in the right direction, the locals left them to continue the drive on their own. It took three days of hard riding and scant sleep to reach the small, but prosperous looking farm. They drove the cattle through the gate onto the meadow set aside for them, closed the gate as the last calf ran through and turned toward the house and barn. They were within ten yards of the house when a slim, brownish blond haired woman of slightly above average height and a skinny, dark-haired boy of seven raced out the front door of the house. The woman was about 30, five years younger than Chester.

"Thank you ever so much for bringin' Donald and the cattle my Roy paid for with his life, Mr. Goode. Please come in and have some coffee and pie. Albert can see to the horses."

"I'd be ever so grateful, ma'am, uh Mrs. Hammond. I reckon it has been a tiresome trip."

Once inside the house, Donald followed his mother into the kitchen while leading the way for Chester to limp after him. There were four chairs around the weathered but sturdy table. Donald sank onto his usual chair with his back to the stove and pointed Chester to the chair at the head of the table, the one that until a week ago had been his father's. Albert, finished with the horses, sat in the chair opposite his brother just as Elsie put a blueberry pie on the table.

The four of them sat and ate and talked. While Elsie cooked supper Chester and the two boys saw to the chores that needed to be done before the sun set. While he worked, Chester noticed the repairs and future work the farm would need before winter set in. It was too much for a widow and two boys to do on their own. After supper and after the boys went to bed, Elsie talked about what she and Roy had planned and how afraid she was that not only wouldn't she be able to follow through on the plans, she wouldn't be able to keep her boys from starving. Chester went to sleep in the barn thinking about what she'd told him and what he could possibly do to help make her dreams come true.

In the morning they repeated the easy chatter of the day before. Chester had just turned down a second helping of ham and grits when Elsie, who'd started to clear the table turned to him.

"Mr. Goode, I reckon you'll be gettin' on your horse and ridin' on back to Dodge City now. It should be a might shorter trip without an 11-year-old boy and a herd of cattle to deal with. I'm sure your employer, Marshal Dillon wasn't it, expects you back as soon as possible."

"Well ma'am, I been thinkin' that you could use some help now that you're alone except for your boys. If you're willin' to keep me on for food and lodgin', I'd be mighty pleased to help out. Mr. Dillon will understand if I send him a note explainin' how things are. Course if you do let me stay, there's one thing I'm askin' in return. Stop callin' me Mr. Goode. My name's Chester."

"All right Chester, I accept on condition you start callin' me Elsie. Now you menfolk had better get cleaned up for a trip to Wichita. I'll need your help bringin' Roy's body home for buryin'. It's still at the train depot. You can mail your letter when we get there."

The few weeks stretched into months. During that time Chester and Elsie grew closer and the boys, especially Albert, began to treat him as their new father. Five months into his stay Chester sent a letter to Dodge to tell his friends that he wouldn't be coming back at all. Matt, as usual, was understanding and let Chester know that if things changed he always had a job.


	3. Chapter 3 Reaction to an Invitation

**Chapter 3 – Reactions to an Invitation**

Chester had been gone nearly a year when Matt found a letter from him among his pile of official mail. Kitty and Doc remarked that they too had received envelopes from him. Kitty and Doc opened theirs to find a wedding invitation and a short note. The three of them headed toward their table in the Long Branch to talk over their plans.

"I see the wedding's set for the second Saturday in April. There's a note from Elsie Hammond, Chester's intended, asking me to come early and stay late if I want to. I think I just might leave on Monday so I arrive two weeks before the wedding. I'd like to know more about this woman Chester's marrying. It's a big change taking on a widow and two boys. I know he's had a year with her. Still, knowing how gullible he is, I hope he's not making a big mistake. What about you two?"

"I reckon the town can do without a doctor for a few days. I'll take the train to Wichita the Friday before the wedding and return on the Monday morning train. What about you, Matt?"

"I'm gonna have to write Chester that I can't make it. I've got a big trial in a few days over in Hutchinson that will keep me out of Dodge for close to two weeks. I'd have to go from there to Wichita if I was to make the wedding, but the cattle season will be heating up by then. It's just too dangerous for me to be out of town after the herds start coming in."

"Howdy Matthew, Miss Kitty, Doc. What are you three natterin' on about?" Festus, the scraggly hill man, asked them as he strode over to the table to join them.

"We've been invited to Chester's wedding in Wichita, but Matt doesn't think he can leave you, Quint and Sam in charge for a few extra days while he attends the wedding of a man who's like a younger brother to him," Kitty replied.

"I've got paperwork in my office and then rounds. I'll see ya later," Matt said as he stood and turned toward the door.

His friends watched the big marshal push through the batwing doors of the saloon. Doc drew his right hand across his mustache, perplexed yet resigned to Matt's response. Festus was happy for Chester but wondered about Matt's reaction and why he wasn't invited. Kitty's crystal blue eyes shone with anger as she glared at the still swinging doors to her saloon.

As usual, later that night Matt made the Long Branch the final stop on his rounds. He found Kitty upstairs in her rooms, still fuming at him.

"Now Kitty, you know how this job is. I'd like nothing more than to be at Chester's wedding, but I just can't. I'll mail off a letter to him tomorrow just before I leave for the trial. He'll understand. I just wish you would."

"That's just it, Matt. He'll accept it because it's you, but that doesn't mean he won't be hurt. As for me, it's just one more time you've disappointed me by missing an important event because of that badge you're married to."

"Kitty, let's not end our last night together for a long time arguing. You'll be off to Wichita by the time I return. I can't help that, but I also can't leave Festus in charge for longer than I have to, especially at this time of year, you know, and that's a fact."

"Is that a fact or just another excuse to keep you away from a wedding – a very special wedding? You're right, I'll be in Wichita when you get back and you can just wonder about when I'll be back or even whether I'll come back. You won't admit it to yourself, but the real reason you won't stay away a few extra days is because Chester marrying is too close to you facing up to when we might be getting married. Goodnight, Matt. I don't know when I'll next see you."


	4. Chapter 4 Chester's New Family

**Chapter 4 - Getting to Know Chester's New Family**

Kitty stepped off the train in Wichita to find Chester waiting for her. He took her bags and piled them behind the seat on the farm wagon he'd driven all the way into town. During the 20-mile trip, Chester couldn't stop talking about Elsie and the two boys and the farm that was now his home. Finally, however, the conversation turned to life in Dodge City and Doc and Matt.

"I'm sure enough glad that Doc can spare a few days to attend the weddin', Miss Kitty. I only wish Mr. Dillon could do the same. I understand why he can't though."

"Chester, you're just too forgiving when it comes to Matt. I'll just have to be mad at him for both of us because that badge isn't a good excuse for not taking at least the time to be at the church when you and Elsie marry."

By the time they reached the house Kitty learned that Chester's brother Magnus would be best man and would arrive three days early so he could meet the woman and boys who would soon be his sister-in-law and nephews. She also found out that Chester planned to adopt them as soon after the wedding as he could and that Elsie's best friend was close to her time with her sixth child. Therefore, she wasn't sure who would be the maid of honor. Since her parents had passed Elsie had decided that Donald, although only 12, would stand in for his deceased grandfather and give the bride away to the man who would become his new father. Albert, so he could also have a part in the wedding, would be the ring bearer, while Elsie's best friend's oldest daughter, who was 7, a year younger than Albert, would represent her mother and act as flower girl.

By the time Magnus arrived, a few days earlier than expected, Kitty had become fast friends with Elsie and quite close to her sons. The two women were about the same height and build, but where Kitty had red hair, Elsie's was a golden brown that matched her brown eyes. She was good-natured and slow to anger like Chester, but like him was fiercely loyal and couldn't abide cruelty in any form. She noticed Donald had grown three inches since she last saw him and his hair had darkened to the same golden brown as his mother's. Albert, on the other hand, shared the dark brown hair and coloring of Chester. It was also clear that while Donald was accepting of Chester as his new father, he was still reticent. That wasn't the case with Albert, four years his junior, who was already acting as if Chester had always been there for him. Kitty was sure this family would make her friend a very happy man.

Later that day, Elsie glanced over at Kitty as the two women worked in the kitchen washing and putting away the dinner dishes. She was glad two of Chester's closest friends would be at the wedding. She knew how much it meant to him and all she wanted was to make this wonderful man she'd met happy. As she watched, she saw her companion's expression change from a wistful smile to melancholy and back to the smile. They'd been together enough that she knew Kitty was thinking about the one person who should be here but wouldn't be. Would he ever approve of her or even meet her? In fact, although Kitty seemed to like her, did she really approve of her for Chester and was she thinking of what it would be like for her to have a home and family?

"Kitty, I wanted to talk with you before Dr. Adams arrives. I know you and he and Marshal Dillon are his closest friends. Do you think I'm the right woman for him? Would the marshal feel the same?"

"I can't speak for Matt, who can't put aside that badge of his to be here, but in the past ten days I've decided that you're absolutely the best person for him. So many women have used him in the past, building his hopes up and then leaving him. You really love him and would never deliberately hurt him. Chester loves family, yet his own kin have often disappointed him. I also feel that like you Donald and especially Albert see the wonderful man he is – a man they can be proud to call Pa."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I only wish you could be as happy in your life as Chester and I are. I never thought I could love another man after Roy was killed pursuing our dream, but there was Chester to continue it and then make it his own. I hope this isn't too personal, but I've been watching you and I believe there's a sliver of jealousy mixed in with your warm feelings and it all has to do with Marshal Dillon."

"I reckon I am. Matt can't seem to realize that there's more to life than that badge. All I ever wanted from the first time we talked – I mean really talked – to each other was to spend the rest of my life with him and raise a family. I know he loves me, but his fear of me being hurt because of my connection to him or our children being left as orphans has kept him from following through on that love and giving me everything. I think that fear, which he as the bravest man I know can't admit is crippling him, is keeping us from having what we both want. My only hope is that someday he'll overcome that stubborn pride of his and admit that it's fear that's holding him back. Maybe what it will take is a more pressing fear. I thought he might give in and propose after Frank and Maria Reardon's wedding last year, but he didn't. I think he might have skipped that wedding too if he hadn't promised Frank he'd be his best man. He couldn't say no to his best friend, but he can stay away when the man getting married is like a younger brother to him."

The two women talked on. When they were finally talked out they knew everything about each other – all their hopes, dreams and fears. It was two days before the wedding, but nobody knew who would be her maid of honor. The rehearsal was the next night. If the one vacancy in the wedding party weren't filled, the bride would have to walk herself down the aisle. By the time Elsie, the boys, Chester, Magnus and Kitty went to the station to meet Doc Kitty had agreed to be maid of honor for the second time in two years.


	5. Chapter 5 The Wedding and After

**Chapter 5 – The Wedding and After**

The church was about three quarters full by the time Chester, Magnus and Kitty joined the preacher at the altar to watch young Donald Hammond escort his mother down the aisle. He proudly wore the new suit Chester had bought him for the occasion while his mother wore a simple beige gown without a train or veil since it was her second wedding.

Their vows having been exchanged the newlyweds and all the others gathered to celebrate with them stood on the front steps of the church so Elsie could throw the bouquet. It flew just to Kitty's left, landing in the arms of the preacher's 17-year-old daughter Anna. Anna would soon be engaged to the newly promoted head clerk at the hotel where Kitty and Doc were now staying. David had already asked for and received her father's blessing.

As they made their way to the hotel where she and Doc had paid for the food and hall as part of their wedding gift to the happy couple, Kitty smiled wistfully and winked at Doc. She was still disappointed in Matt, but she loved him too much to remain mad at him for putting his duty as he saw it first. After all, that sense of responsibility was one of the main reasons she loved him. It didn't mean she wouldn't make him suffer though. She planned on staying perhaps another two weeks so he'd wonder for a bit longer if she would be speaking to him when she returned.

In a few hours Chester and Elsie left in the rented buggy Magnus had provided. He said his goodbyes to his brother and new family and to Kitty and Doc and then left to return to the prairie. Kitty and Doc also said goodbye, as did Donald and Albert. The rest of the wedding gift was looking after the boys while they explored the wonders of Wichita allowing their mother and new father to spend time alone on the farm. The boys had a hotel room that they didn't have to share with Doc, who was only staying two more nights.

On the third morning, Kitty and the two boys saw Doc off at the train station. They were excited but allowed Kitty and Doc a moment alone before walking back to the hotel with her to make plans for the rest of their day.

"Are you sure you won't change your mind and come back with me? That overgrown public servant of yours just might have been punished enough. That is what you're doing to him isn't it?"

"Of course that's what I'm doing," Curly. I want him to do more than miss me; I want him to start to fret. Maybe this time, if I stay away long enough, I'll get through to that thick head of his and convince that stubborn man some things short of physical danger are more important than his badge and what he feels he owes it."

"All right, what should I tell him? I like to know my role when I conspire with you."

"I heard the trains won't be running for quite a spell after Thursday. The tracks between here and Dodge are being repaired. Tell him to keep looking for me on the stage, starting Friday. That will give him at least a full week of wondering if I'm on the stage or not."

Two days after Doc left Chester and Elsie brought back the buggy, which Magnus had rented for five days. They saw a lawyer to complete Chester's adoption of Donald and Albert and then took their sons home. Kitty, left to her own devices, decided to take advantage of being in a bigger town. She went shopping. She spent the remaining time enjoying herself. She even allowed a handsome man or two to escort her to the theater for a drama or musicale.

The mid-April day before she planned to leave, Kitty went to the stage depot to buy her ticket home. By the time she reached it, she would have been gone just shy of four weeks. There was a short line, so she fell into a conversation with the woman in front of her, who was accompanied by a young boy of about ten. Her name was Eleanor Starkey. She and her son Josh were traveling to Denver to live with her brother now that she was a widow. The stage to Dodge would be full. Even the chairman of the railroad would be riding along.

As the stage came closer and closer to home, Kitty thought more about Matt and how she should greet him. She'd already told the Starkeys about him and about her "restaurant." It would be good to return to her own rooms and have Matt by her side again. She couldn't wait to see his face as she stepped out of the coach.

As each day passed and Kitty wasn't on the stage, Matt became more anxious. What reaction would he get from her when he met the stage? Would he be disappointed again when she wasn't on it or would she be there, but snub him? He momentarily forgot his anxiety as Matt the marshal took over from Matt the man while he listened to Mrs. Tucker in Doc's office. She had sent Festus to fetch him before heading off with her son Henry to see about removing the rock salt from the boy's backside. Doc was off on a call, so he and Festus sent them home, but not before he promised to talk to old John Suggs about peppering boys stealing apples with rock salt from his shotgun. Once the Tuckers left, only he and Festus remained. Matt even managed a smile thinking about stealing apples and other boyish pranks and Festus having money.

"Well now, I'm mighty glad to hear that, but right now I got to go meet the stage," Matt replied to Festus' offer to buy him a beer if he had a dollar.

"Matthew, that stage ain't due for another hour and you know it. Anyway, Miss Kitty's only been away three weeks."

"Closer to four."

"Well, she's apt just not to come back atall. There's a lot o' nice fellers in Wichita and her a goin' to a weddin' and all, it just could be she…"

"By golly, Festus, you're worse than old Suggs; rub salt in an open wound, huh."


End file.
